Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb;53(2):128-134.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-122-16. Epub 2018 Jan 26.

Dynamic Varus and the Development of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Christopher D Stickley  1 , Melanie M Presuto  1   2 , Kara N Radzak  1   3 , Christina M Bourbeau  1   4 , Ronald K Hetzler  1
Affiliations

Dynamic Varus and the Development of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Christopher D Stickley et al. J Athl Train. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Context: Although the risk of osteoarthritis development after acute knee injury has been widely studied, the long-term consequences of knee overuse injury are not well understood.

Objective: To identify the relationship between gait-related risk factors associated with osteoarthritis and the development of iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) in members of a single University Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Biomechanics laboratory.

Patients or other participants: Sixty-eight cadets undergoing standardized physical fitness training.

Intervention(s): Three-dimensional lower extremity kinematics (240 Hz) and kinetics (960 Hz) were collected for 3 bilateral trials during shod running at 4.0 m/s ± 10%. Injury tracking was conducted for 7 months of training.

Main outcome measure(s): Biomechanical variables, including varus thrust and knee-adduction moment, were compared between the injured and control groups.

Results: Twenty-six cadets with no history of overuse injury served as the control group, whereas 6 cadets (7 limbs) who developed ITBS that required them to modify their training program or seek medical care (or both) served as the injured group. Maximum varus velocity was higher ( P = .006) and occurred sooner during stance ( P = .04) in the injured group than in the control group, indicating greater varus thrust. Maximum knee-varus angle and maximum knee-adduction moment were higher ( P = .02 and P = .002, respectively) and vertical stiffness was lower ( P = .03) in the injured group.

Conclusions: Measures of dynamic varus stability appeared to be altered in individuals who developed ITBS. Biomechanical knee variables previously identified as increasing the risk for knee osteoarthritis were also associated with the development of ITBS in healthy adults.

Keywords: knee overuse injury; neuromuscular control; osteoarthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Marker locations for kinematic data collection. A, Anterior view. B, Posterior view.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Knee-varus velocity (mean ± standard deviation) during stance phase for participants who developed iliotibial band syndrome (dashed line) compared with control participants (solid line).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hauret KG, Jones BH, Bullock SH, Canham-Chervak M, Canada S. . Musculoskeletal injuries: description of an under-recognized injury problem among military personnel. Am J Prev Med. 2010; 38 suppl 1: S61– S70. - PubMed
    1. Fields KB. . Running injuries - changing trends and demographics. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2011; 10 5: 299– 303. - PubMed
    1. van Mechelen W. . Running injuries. A review of the epidemiological literature. Sports Med. 1992; 14 5: 320– 335. - PubMed
    1. van Gent RN, Siem D, van Middelkoop M, van Os AG, Bierma-Zeinstra SM, Koes BW. . Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running injuries in long distance runners: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2007; 41 8: 469– 480. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Loudon JK, Reiman MP. . Lower extremity kinematics in running athletes with and without a history of medial shin pain. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012; 7 4: 356– 364. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources